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Introduction Michael P. Levine, Kenyon College Gail L. McVey, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto Niva Piran, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto H. Bruce Ferguson, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto Over the past decade, there has been an enormous amount of social and professional concern about an array of disorders related to weight, body shape, body image, and eating. On the one hand, there is research that documents that this spectrum of disordered eating and eating disorders is prevalent, serious, and often chronic (Hudson, Hiripi, Pope, & Kessler, 2007; Jones, Halford, & Dooley, 1993; Keski-Rahkonen et al., 2007; Sihvola et al., 2009). This spectrum ranges from body dissatisfaction or negative body image to restrictive dieting and disordered eating patterns (such as binge eating and compensatory behaviours that are used to counteract the ingestion of calories such as self-induced vomiting, laxative use, and excessive exercise). Furthermore, disordered eating patterns are associated with other health and mental health challenges, such as depression, anxiety disorders, and substance abuse (Gadalla & Piran, 2007; Piran & Gadalla, 2006; Seeley, Stice, & Rohde, 2009; Stice, Shaw, & Marti, 2007). Obesity, in turn, has raised social concerns related to recent increases in its prevalence (Tremblay, Katzmarzyk, & Willms, 2002; World Health Organization, 2001), associated health challenges (Reilly et al., 2003), as well as the social stigma connected to individuals who are perceived to be obese (MacLean et al., 2009; Puhl & Heuer, 2009). Moreover, a number of risk factors for the development of clinical eating disorders, such as negative body image, restrictive dieting, binge eating, and purging behaviours, were found to be present among at least a segment of individuals who are obese (Haines & Neumark-Sztainer, 2006; Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2006; 1 2 i n t r o d u c t i o n Stice, Ng, & Shaw, 2010). This information has led researchers to suggest that the understanding and related health-promoting interventions of both disordered eating patterns and obesity could be enhanced through examining new, and possibly shared, theoretical lens and research programs (Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2007). The importance of addressing both disordered eating patterns and obesity relates to the prevalence of both phenomena in modern, industrialized countries across the world (Keel & Klump, 2003; Keski-Rahkonen et al., 2007). In terms of eating disorders, across studies, the prevalence of full-blown (i.e., diagnosable) eating disorders appears to be in the range of 2-3% of the population and 5% of adolescent girls and young women. This number translates to 600,000 to 990,000 Canadians with symptoms sufficient for an eating disorder diagnosis at any one time. Moreover, two Canadian studies reveal that an even larger number of females aged 15 to 29––perhaps as many as 20-25% or another 675,000 to 850,000––while not meeting the criteria for an eating disorder, have significant subclinical symptoms that can be seriously debilitating (Jones, Bennett, Olmsted, Lawson, & Rodin, 2001; McVey, Pepler, Davis, Flett, & Abdolell, 2002).1 There is also growing evidence that many males are troubled by their body size (i.e., being underweight or overweight) and that these concerns are correlated with body image dissatisfaction, disordered eating, and unhealthy attempts at muscle gain (Cohane & Pope, 2001; Croll, Neumark-Sztainer, Story, & Ireland, 2002; McCabe, Ricciardelli, & Finemore, 2002; McCreary & Sasse, 2002). Attention is being paid as well to the earlier ages of onset, with children as young as seven years presenting to eating disorder treatment programs. With regard to obesity, the cause for concern worldwide is well documented (see, e.g., Kraak & Story, 2010). In Canada, the proportion of older children and adults that are either overweight or obese was twice as high in 1996 (26% in girls, 32% in boys) as it was in 1981 (13.1% in girls, 10.6% in boys) in nine of 10 provinces (Tremblay et al., 2002; Willms, Tremblay, & Katzmarzyk, 2003). In North America, the increase in percentage of obese and overweight children and youth is greater than the increase in any other disease or risk factor over the last century (Frank, Engelke, & Schmid, 2003). Prevention is the only answer to the interlocking concerns of experts, parents, economists, and other citizens. For example, even though it is clear that the spectrum of disordered eating constitutes a significant public health problem, there will never be enough skilled clinicians across the many disciplines represented in this volume to effect a substantial reduction in using the traditional medical approach of “identify it–detect it–treat it.” For example, the Institute for Health Information (2006) estimates the...

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